When peace comes upon you, will you deny or accept it?

What you choose impacts yourself, your friends, your family, and the world.

May 27, 2025

Tuesday, May 20th, 2025

There are moments in life where it feels like all is well in one’s life. These are fleeting and rare moments, for sure, and that’s why we need to pause and relish them when they come our way.

In our modern world, such moments are often accompanied by either guilt or a sudden burst of superstitious anxiety.

What right do I have, to dare to be so happy? To feel a simple moment of ease and quiet bliss — when so many others suffer?

It’s a logical question, and it’s poisonous. What’s the long term result of tainting rare moments of joy and contentment with shame?

Wait, wait! I shouldn’t feel this good! It’s dangerous. Why? Because the sensation of “all being right in the world” results in the relaxing of the defensive walls and subtle, ever present preparedness that marks almost every moment of our lives.

And to relax is to be vulnerable. It’s quite literally dangerous, which is why choosing peacefulness and contentment is an act of bravery.

It can also be brought about by tiredness following healthy exertion, a first mouthful of nourishing food when one is hungry, long gulps of clean, cool water when thirsty, or the protective and comforting moments that come with a healthy love affair.

So I ask you, what good does it do, rebuffing these moments? How is one’s life honored and properly appreciated, if we deny these brightly (and softly) lit moments?

Far better (and braver) to cherish such moments when they come upon us, unexpected and startling in their quieting power. Like right now, when I have arrived at my destination, accomplished necessary tasks, the weather is comfortable, and I am surrounded by what have long been my personal “happy places.”

Cafes. Coffee shops. 커피숍.

And so, I’m enjoying this moment. I’m smiling. My shoulders and the center of my body feel relaxed. I have nowhere to be and a languid desire to stroll around, aimlessly, once I finish this Substack. I could come up with a list of “things I should be doing,” but why ruin the moment?

In this way, peace is a choice we make every minute of every day. The choice to be at peace amidst strife and struggle, accepting hardship as normative and unavoidable — and the choice to be happy when others are not, because that is the natural state of humanity on Earth.

You earn no morality awards, denying yourself happiness. You are not “the better person.” And you are, most definitely, NOT improving the world by sharpening yourself into a thin blade of sharpened bitterness, resolute in your attentiveness to the misery and pain of others. Nor do you somehow become the cause of suffering merely for the sin of embracing your bliss.

Long story short: “It’s rare enough to feel contentment, and the world needs as much warmth, joy and peacefulness as possible. Choose it when it comes your way.”

Enjoy the photos from a truly amazing cafe I stumbled upon while waiting to check into “Midtown Hostel” here in Daegu, South Korea.

My first day here, I came away with an active dislike of this mid-country city, and I’m grateful to be shown another side of Daegu as I pass through once again. 😊

My “take away” snack for tomorrow’s train ride to Gyeongju (a soft bread with almonds) and a truly delicious Iced American with extraordinary Chocolate Sauce (for my afternoon ambling).